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Uulnam
Uulnam are a type of beast native to Amyu, which have since been introduced to several Shan colonies with significant oceans. Uulnam are very large, very long-lived creatures that go through several phases of life, in which their bodies change dramatically. Biology The first stage is the juvenile uulnam. These creatures are similar to the terragen giant squid, although a good bit larger, which typically inhabit very deep areas near the poles and feast on the huge schools of fish that in turn eat the massive krill colonies in these regions. Juvenile uulnam also consume larger prey. Juveniles require huge amounts of food to feed and are highly territorial. In every clutch of juveniles, typically numbering in the thousands, only a few uulnam will survive, as they eat each other in infancy. Those who survive can also die from clashes with large sea beasts, other or older uulnam, or Shan. The second stage of life for the uulnam is the adolescent. Adolescents begin to build a hard shell, and typically move to shallower waters, becoming less discriminatory about their prey. Adolescents will sometimes lurk on the bottom or near currents, snaring fish and larger prey. Adolescents, as they move to shallower waters, can be dangerous to ships and even cities. The adolescent stage is also the breeding stage for the uulnam, who emit infrasound mating calls. Females have their eggs fertilized and lay huge egg clutches after incubating them for about a month. The weaker babies are eaten by their stronger siblings. The uulnam have more females than they do males, typically about two to one, and females generally only lay one clutch in their entire lives. Males have a certain biological clock, which leaves them infertile after a certain age. The third stage of uulnam life is the fully grown adult. Not many make it to this stage, but most of an uulnam's extremely long life will be spent as an adult. Generally after laying eggs (in females) or after their biological clock ticks down, adolescents will begin the process of entering this stage. They become increasingly sedentary, building up very strong shells, and their bodies grow and change to become more adapted for filter-feeding. They are still capable of movement, but it is much slower and more inefficient. They also shift towards eating smaller and smaller prey, and move onto the edges of continental shelfs, upwells, or large loop currents. There is no clear limit on how long an uulnam adult can live, as they seem to express telomerase in all their tissues and several living specimens have been identified as being alive in records dating back thousands of years. They steadily grow larger and larger, and the largest create their own current patterns because of their size and their water intake from filter-feeding. These largest specimens often have enough accumulation of sediment on the surface of their shell for small islands to appear, deceiving mariners into believing that the island or group of islands they are sailing through are simply natural formations. Destructive potential When large adult uulnam move, the scale of destruction they are capable of has led to the view that the movement of the uulnam leads to "the fall of dynasties and the ruin of empires". The destruction of entire archipelagos has been recorded. Fortunately for Shan civilization, adult uulnam almost never move, and as they developed technology the Shan have developed ways to kill uulnam, render them harmless, or, in a few rare cases by some of Amyu's seagoing empires, even tame a handful. Because of their reputation, baby uulnam are considered an exquisite delicacy by the Shan. Category:Fauna